Switch-throwing device.



0. S. WEDDELL.

SWITCH THROWING DEVIGE.

APPLIOATION'IILI 'D OOT. 6, 1911.

Patented May 21, 1912.

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ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA mummy: 00.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

' O. S. WEDDELL.

SWITCH THROWING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED omv s, 1911.

Patented May 21, 1912.

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INVENTOR fllz'verdmd /1 f WITNESSES ATTORNEYS COLUMBIA PLANodRAPl-l COUWASNXNETD D. c.

OLIVER S. WEDDELL, 0F MCKEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA.

SWITGH-THROWING DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 21, 1912.

Application filed October 6, 1911. Serial No. 653,227.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, OLIVER S. W'EDDELL, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at McKeesport, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch- Throwing Devices, of which the following is a specification, reference being had .therein to the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to a switch-throwing device, especially designed for street cars, although the device can be used in connection with various kinds of rolling-stock.

The objects of my invention are to furnish a car with adjustable switch-throwing shoes that can be set to throw a switch tongue in. a desired direction, andv to furnish a switch-tongue with a yieldable contact-piece that will prevent the tongue and shoes from being injured when contacting.

Other objects of my invention are to provide a switchthrowing device that can be used in connection with the ordinary brake shaft of a car, thereby occupying a comparatively small space upon the platform or in the cab of a car, and to provide a switchthrowing device that is positive in its action, not liable to injury by ordinary use, and highly eflicient for the purposes for which it is intended.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter specifically described and then claimed.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein there is illustrated a preferred embodiment of my invention, but it is to be understood that the structural elements can be varied orchanged as to the size, shape and manner of assemblage without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Reference will now be had to the drawings, wherein like numerals denote corresponding parts throughout the several views, in which:

Figure 1 is a sideuelevation of a portion of the switch-throwing device, partly broken away. Fig. 2 is a'front elevation of a portion of the switch-throwing device, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a plan of a switch-tongue in accordance with this invention. Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a bottom plan of a portion of the switch-throwing device. Fig. 6 is the plan of a portion of the operating mechanism; and Fig. 7 is a perspective view of one of the throwing shoes.

The reference numerals 1 denote the semicircular brackets having vertical arms 2 attached to .the under side of a platform 3, adjacent to the longitudinal side frames of the car. Mounted in these brackets by screws or other fastening means 4 are housings 5, and movably mounted in said housings are tubular plungers 6. The upper ends of the plungers 6 are screw-threaded, as at 7 and provided with nuts 8 normally resting upon the upper ends of the housings 5 to support said plungers. The lower ends of the plungers are provided with horizontal circular heads 9, and interposed between said heads and the lower ends of the housings 5 are coiled compression springs 10. The springs 10 encircle the lower reduced ends 11 of said housings. The lower face of each head 9 is cut away to provide a longitudinal groove 12 and angularly disposed shoulders 13, 14, 15 and 16. The shoulders 13 and 14 are arranged in parallelism, also the shoulders 15 and 16, these shoulders having the inner ends thereof terminating at the lower end of a vertical opening 17 formed in the plungers 6. The outer ends of the shoulders 13 to 16, inclusive, terminate at the periphery of the head 9, and these shoulders represent walls of grooves that intersect the groove 12 at the lower end of the opening 17.

Movably mounted in the openings 17 of the plungers 6 are the stems 18 of throwing shoes 19, said shoes having the ends thereof beveled, as at 20, and the upper surfaces thereof rounded, as at 21, to engage in the grooves 12. The upper ends of the stems 18 are provided with cross-heads 22 and 23, and encircling said stems, between said heads and the upper ends of the plungers 6, are coiled compression springs 24. The lower ends of these springs rest in sockets 25 provided therefor in the upper ends of the plungers and said springs are employed to normally hold the shoes 19 in the grooves 12. The cross-heads 22 and 23 have the arms 26 thereof pivotally' connected, as at 27 to the bifurcated ends of connecting rods 28. The rods are arranged in parallelism and are adapted to move the cross-heads 22 and 23 in unison.

The car platform 3, ad acent to one of the side frames of the car, has a hanger 29, and journaled in said hanger and extending upwardly through an opening 30 provided therefor in the platform 3 is a shaft 31. The lower end of the shaft 31 has a cross-head 32 with the ends thereof connected by chains 33 to the ends of oppositely disposed arms 34, carried by the cross-head 22. The arms 34 are disposed at right angles to the arms 26. Coiled retractile springs 35 are interposed between some of the links of the chains 33. Any flexible and yieldable connection can be employed in lieu of said chains and said springs.

The upper end of the shaft 31 extends through an opening provided therefor in a base plate 36 mounted upon the platform 3, and the upper end of said shaft has a head 37 provided with a crank 38. The crank 38 is pivotally connected by a link 39 to a crank 40, carried by the lower end of a vertical sleeve 41 surrounding a brake shaft 42. Brake shaft 42 is of the ordinary and well known type employed for operating the hand-brakes of a car, and in order that the sleeve 41 can be revolved relatively to the brake shaft 42, the upper end of the sleeve has a collar 43 and apertured lugs 44 for a pivoted lever 45. The lever 45 normally remains in an inactive position, but said lever can be easily raised to an active position at right angles to the sleeve 41. The upward movement of the lever 45 is limited by a lug 46, carried by the pivoted end of said lever and adapted to engage the collar 43.

Each switch-tongue 47 has the point thereof cutv away, as at 48, to accommodate the ends 49 of a yieldable contact-piece 50. This contact-piece has the ends thereof secured to the tongue 47, as at 51, and said contactpiece is positioned at an angle to the tongue, whereby the point of the contact-piece will extend above the point of the tongue 47. VVhen-wagons or other vehicles encounter the yieldable contact-piece, said piece yields or recedes without imparting movement to the tongue 47.

hen a motorman or the operator of a car desires to throw the switch-tongue 47, it is only necessary to raise theoperating lever 45 and swing it to the right or left according to the direction in which the switchtongue is to be moved. When the sleeve 41 is moved the shaft 31 is moved in a similar direction, also the stems 18. This movement of the stems is accomplished through the medium of the connections 33 and the rods 28. When the stems 18 are moved the shoes 19 are swung out of the grooves 12 to engage either the shoulders 13 and 14 or 15 and 16. This swinging movement of the shoes lowers thestems 18, as the upper rounded edges 21 of the shoes ride against the bottom faces of the heads 9, placing the springs 24 under tension. lVhen the shoes are lowered they are in the path or in alinement with the yieldable. contact-piece 50, and as the car proceeds, the shoes 19 engage said contactpiece and shift the tongue 47 Immediately upon the lever 45 being released, the spring 24 restore the stems 18 to their normal position. The switch throwing device, however, is automatically restored to its normal position by the yieldable contact-piece 50 of the tongue 47. \Vhen the shoes 19 are set to throw the tongue, the shoes are disposed at an angle, and as one of the shoes engages the contact-piece 50, said piece is shifted to the limit of its movement. By this time the greater part of the shoe has wiped the yieldable contactpiece 50 and the rear end of the shoe is riding against the contact-piece. Since the contact-piece has reached the limit of its movement, it cannot be moved any farther, consequently the shoe will yield and assume its normal position in the groove 12. It is this restoration of the shoes thatmakes it necessary for the heads 9 to yield to prevent the shoes from being injured when engaging the contact-piece 50. As the contactpiece can also yield, there is a double assurance of the switch-throwing device operating with perfect safety. The yieldable head 9 also yields to prevent the shoe from being injured should obstructions be encountered upon thetrack.

The housings 5 are supported directly above the rails of a track and it is preferable to use two housings, whereby switch-tongues in connection with either rail of the track can be operated or thrown without the necessity of the motormanor operator of the car leaving the same or resorting to the use of separate tools or implements for throwing the switch-tongues.

What I claim is 1. In a switch-throwing device, the combination with a car, rails and switch tongues, of housings carried by said 'car above said rails, yieldable and rotatable stems arranged in said housings, shoes carried by the lower ends of said stems in the path of said switch-tongues and adapted to be lowered by a rotary movement of said stems, cross-heads carried by the upper ends of said stems, connecting rods pivotally connected to the ends of said cross-heads, a

shaft carriedbysaid car, a cross-head carried by the lower end of said shaft and having flexible connection with one of the cross-heads of said stems, and means carried by said car for moving said shaft.

2. In a switch-throwing device, the combination with a car, rails, and a switchtongue, of a yieldable contact-piece carried by said switch-tongue, a housing carried by said car, a yieldable and rotatable stem supported by said housing, a shoe carried by the lower end of said stem and-adapted to be lowered by a rotary movement of said stem to engage said contact-piece and throw said tongue, a cross-head carried by the upper end of said stem, an operating shaft carried by said car, and a cross-head carried by the lower end of said shaft and having flexible connection with the cross-head of said stem.

3. In a switch-throwing device, a switchtongue, a yieldable contact-piece carried thereby, a shoe adapted to be disposed at an angle to engage said contact-piece and throw said tongue, a yieldable stem supporting said shoe, a yieldable plunger supporting said stem, and means including an operating shaft and a flexible connection for moving said stem and the shoe attached thereto.

4. In a switch-throwing device, a car, a housing carried by said car, a yieldable plunger arranged in said housing, a yieldable and rotatable stem arranged in said plunger, a head carried by the lower end of said plunger, a throwing-shoe carried by the lower end of said stem and movably held in engagement with said head, means including an operating shaft and flexible connections for moving said stem and the shoe carried thereby, and means carried by the head of said plunger,for limiting the movement of said shoe.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

OLIVER S. WEDDELL. Witnesses:

MAX H. SRoLovrrz, CHRISTINA T. H001).

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Washington, I). 0.

Commissioner of Patents. 

